1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to warp knitted fabrics. It particularly relates to an open mesh structure with a stand-off design for athletic apparel.
2. Background Art
When an athlete performs, perspiration from the athlete's body may lead to a "sticky" feeling when the perspiration lingers on the skin surface. Consequently, many athletes wear mesh jerseys (e.g., football, track, soccer, hockey, etc.) that have open holes in the jersey fabric (open mesh design) allowing perspiration to escape from the skin surface through the holes in the athletic garment. These mesh jerseys and other garments provide greater personal comfort and a more breathable environment to the high-performance perspiring athlete. Many such open mesh garments are produced, for example, using warp knitting machines.
Warp knitted open mesh structures known in the art (such as the well known "Football Mesh" Jersey) are often constructed of, for example, at least two continuous filament synthetic yarns such as nylon or polyester. Such yarns may be carried, for example, by two guide bars of a warp knitting machine. The fabric may be stitched using a variation of the Atlas technique wherein both guide bars knit in opposite directions leaving clean holes in the fabric. Such clean holes may be created in the mesh design by using ground yarns that do not knit on the same needle therein leaving subsequent repetitive courses knitted without a connection between the two adjacent needles. The resulting fabric has the known open hole mesh structure. Commonly, the resulting fabric has a flat surface with a population of open holes staggered throughout but spaced equidistantly, while the non-hole solid closed portions generally comprise approximately 50% of the remaining fabric surface.
Despite the afore-mentioned moisture reduction qualities, the base of the open mesh jersey fabric still lays directly on the skin of wearer, often resulting liquid saturation of the jersey after perhaps minimal use. When perspiration occurs, the fabric may become heavier with sweat content, stick to the wearer, or otherwise cease to comfortable athletic apparel. Therefore, there is a need for an athletic jersey design providing greater comfort and breathability to the athlete.